Carleton gets hot from 3 as Iowa State downs Arkansas-Pine Bluff

AMES — Being a high-major college basketball coach doesn't always afford Bill Fennelly the luxury of making a decision that appears to be a no-brainer.

Starting Iowa State freshman guard Bridget Carleton from now on after a breakout performance is one of those easy decisions that Fennelly doesn't take for granted.

'If you do the scouting report, Bridget hasn't played a whole lot and it's not like it's a kid where you're like, 'Oh my gosh it's going to happen,'' Fennelly said. 'Once she got it going, the transition 3s were really good.'

Injury has forced Carleton out of the Iowa State lineup the last couple weeks, but her game-high 22 points in a 70-41 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sunday had her feeling like her old self. Carleton shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range, with 14 points coming in the second quarter on 5-of-6 shots to push the Cyclones (6-3) ahead 43-28 at the break.

Carleton suffered a mild concussion when she was elbowed in the face against Duke on Nov. 27. Passing a concussion test was her first hurdle to return, but some days have been filled with doctor appointments and dental evaluations — she'll have a root canal Monday.

Several of Carleton's looks from long range came on the break and it surprised her a bit at first when she cashed in the first few that the Golden Lions (3-6) weren't closing out.

'I don't even think about it when I get into that kind of mode. I just kind of shoot it,' Carleton said. 'My teammates found me in transition and they had confidence in me to shoot it, so I just kept shooting it.'

Iowa State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff were deadlocked at 18-18 in the final minute of the first quarter, but guard Jadda Buckley found Carleton on the wing for her second 3-pointer and Seanna Johnson — 11 points and six rebounds — finished the quarter with a layup to start a 21-5 run that lasted until 3:53 to go until halftime.

'Jadda kept looking at me and I just kept saying, 'Throw the ball to Bridget,'' Fennelly said. 'Sometimes you can overthink it. We ran very few plays. We just said get it, go with it and kick it.'

The Cyclones got 40 of their 70 points from true freshmen — Meredith Burkhall had 11 points and TeeTee Starks finished with seven — but Buckley had just two points with seven assists in 13 minutes as she battles the flu.

Fennelly said he doesn't anticipate the flu keeping Buckley out long term, but has gotten productive minutes from his younger players in the last two weeks.

'When freshmen play a lot like ours do, we struggled at first,' said Bry Fernstrom, who had eight points and 12 rebounds. 'They had to learn all the plays and we have a lot of plays, so we're finally getting in a rhythm with things.'

Cyclones.TV Highlights

December 13, 2015

#Cyclones with a 30-point win over UAPB. Highlights courtesy of @CyclonesTV. https://t.co/aYfvy0whzh

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